New stores coming to Town Center

Two new retailers will soon move into the Burbank Town Center, filling large voids left by Circuit City and Mervyns after the two stores filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

Burlington Coat Factory will take over the former Mervyns space, while an Ashley Furniture HomeStore will occupy the former Circuit City storefront.

Burlington Coat Factory, a national chain specializing in brand-name clothing and housewares, is slated to open the first week in November, said Tom Kelly, regional vice president for the company.

Burbank is not the only city where the retailer is looking to take over locations once operated by Mervyns, he added.

“Actually, we have several Mervyns locations we picked up in the last few months,” Kelly said.

The New Jersey-based company is looking to double the number of stores it has in California. The chain currently has 47 locations throughout the state.

“We are definitely targeting the state of California as a major opportunity for expanding our market share,” Kelly said.

The Burbank location is 89,000 square feet, with 45,000 square feet of customer floor space.

Ashley Furniture HomeStores, a Wisconsin-based company with 417 stores in the United States, will take over the 35,000 square feet of former Circuit City space around Dec. 17, said spokesman Kurt Haines.

Mary Hamzoian, the city’s economic development manager, said the arrival of the new stores would be a boon for Burbank.

“It’s great news for the city because it is filling up the vacancies with quality retailers,” Hamzoian said. “We will see additional return on our sales tax revenues so we can keep police and fire and other jobs intact. Anything we can do to maintain the quality of life for residents and avert layoffs, that is what the city would be most happy about.”